Heroes
by Seryan Parks
Summary: Superhero AU. Chapter 01. Annie hates playtime, but he loves it.
1. Character Sheet

They say write what you know, and I know superheroes.

Mikasa

Mikasa is the powerhouse. Superstrength, flight, the works. It ain't a party til she gets there. She has a very black-and-white outlook: something is either evil or good. She is also quite ruthless with whatever unfortunate soul she catches perpetrating a crime.

Armin

Armin doesn't have any natural powers, but he makes up for it with his intellect. He has dozens of gadgets for everything, including gauntlets that give him artificial superstrength. However, his preferred weapon (if it can be called that) is a forcefield that he may or may not have stolen from an alien race.

Marco

Marco is the human (or, y'know, metahuman) equivalent of a bloodhound. He can subconsciously sense the energy signatures that people and certain objects leave behind, and track them literally anywhere in the world. He also has a pair of wings that enable him to fly as quickly as a jet, and have earned him the nickname 'Angel'. He has to eat almost constantly to make up for the calories he burns while flying.

Jean

Jean is a natural leader- a real Captain America or Cosmic Boy, if we're going to make allusions to DC or Marvel. He channels electricity in the air and from anything electrical nearby, making him quite literally a 'hot head', but really it takes quite a bit for him to lose his 'cool'. Heh. He's just as suited to openly leading a charge as subtly leading from the back. He also has some latent ESP, which may explain some of his leadership abilities.

Eren

Eren is nobody, at least at first. He has no clue that his sister is a crime fighter, or the kind of 'overtime' she puts in at the office. But when Eren's latent metagene kicks in, giving him incredibly increased strength, durability, and speed, it does so with a vengeance. And of course, Eren does what anyone would upon discovering their superpowers- he puts on a cape and goes out to kick some evil ass.

Annie

Annie is a natural telepath, and has been since she was seven years old. Though still a teenager, she is the strongest mental power in the country. She picks up on her comrades' thoughts unconsciously, although she tries to respect their privacy. She has mentally beaten crooks into submission, and more than once a bewildered criminal has found himself the city police station after having an irresistible impulse to 'turn himself in'. She also has some telekinesis.

Reiner

Like many metahumans, Reiner has a secret identity. Unlike many metahumans, he was Brawn before he was Reiner. Reiner was raised in a test facility somewhere in the Central American desert, and for most of his life was referred to either as 'Subject 104' or 'Brawn'. All he wants to do is fit in with the rest of the world, but Annie and Bertl tell him it's not time yet. Just once more, then they can stop. He has amazing strength and stamina, but his sanity isn't as resilient as his body.

Bertolt

Bertolt, like Annie, had psychic gifts. Unlike Annie, his are not natural. Bert's ESP was triggered artificially in a lab, and while he is nothing compared to Annie, Bertolt can be a force to be reckoned with. He knows what they have to do, and while he's not happy about it, he has an unwavering sense of duty.

Christa

Christa is a witch on the run. Since she destroyed the source of her coven's power, her coven- the Reiss clan- want her back, and will do anything to accomplish that goal. Chista has been a faithful practitioner of the 'white' magic- nothing with malevolent energies, nothing that would kill another sentient being- but lately she finds that her aptitude for white magic is waning… as her abilities with black magic increase.

Ymir

Ymir never meant to leave her home planet, Sanyu, and she sure as hell never meant to crash into Earth's magnetic north pole and be flash-frozen for nearly seven hundred years. But something has awoken her after all these centuries, and when she finally awakes, Ymir has questions. Can she blend in with the Earthens? What kept her alive for 700 years, and what woke her up? Does this have anything to do with the fact that as the next in line for the Sanyuki throne? And will she ever be able to return to Sanyu?

Sasha

Sasha is the first of her kind: A Watermaster with extremely powerful control over her opposite Element, Fire. This dual control of opposote Elements has made her a dangerous rival to every other Elemental master. Every Master has Magical servants of their own Element: Earth has Brownies, Water has Rusalkas, etc. But because Sasha has control of Water and Fire, neither Rusalkas nor Dragons will have anything to do with her and both species are determined to destroy this abomination to the natural order.

Connie

Connie has been living on borrowed time for as long as he can remember. Diagnosed with leukemia at age seven, his life has been a series of doctors, chemo, therapists, more chemo, and hospital visits. An experimental cure has left Connie in remission, but it's come with some unusual side effects. Namely, bright blue skin and claws.


	2. Chapter I: Annie

Every time Annie was forced to 'play', it made her feel filthy. She wanted to take a hot shower and scrub away every trace of filth. Annie hated playtime. The worst part of it was, Brawn loved playtime. He was like a puppy, so desperate to be loved and to please his mistress.

_A puppy_, Annie thought as she lathered shampoo into her blonde hair, _that's exactly what he is. A puppy in human form._ Perhaps what was most disturbing was that Annie had encountered dogs that resisted her more than Brawn did. His brain was so easy to manipulate, and it came so naturally to her. His mind was less than putty in her hands- more like water that she sent ripples through.

She had to play with her 'pet' at least once a week, and every encounter was carefully monitored. Not to make sure Annie was safe- Brawn hadn't actually attacked her in years, and if he tried, Annie was more than capable of controlling him. She entered his pristine white cage, the cage that had the bulletproof two-way mirror covering one wall, and she stayed there for three hours. Those three hours seemed endless to her, while she stroked his short blonde hair and read him stories and reassured him, yes, he was a good boy. Yes, Annie loved him very much. They would play again soon. When they were younger and had first started their weekly 'playdates' Brawn had cried when she left him alone.

* * *

She was seven years old. "It's a late birthday present, angel," her father had told her.

"Is it a puppy?" she had asked hopefully.

Her father had smiled. "Not quite, angel. I hope you'll like it, anyway." And being seven years old, she hadn't wondered any more about it. Her father had taken her by the hand and led her through the lab complex she'd known her entire life. Their journey ended in the experimental labs. Annie didn't like the experimental labs- something about them was wrong. Even at the tender age of seven, she had known it.

Her father led her into the white room. "Happy birthday, angel. He's yours." And he turned and shut the door behind him, leaving Annie alone in the white room.

At least, she thought she was alone. When her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she saw a boy huddled in the far corner, dressed in all white. He looked so scared, she remembered: trying to make himself as small as possible, and trying to stifle his sobs.

Annie walked over to the boy. "Why are you crying?" she asked bluntly.

He lifted his head out of his arms and noticed her for the first time. He yelped and buried his head again.

She felt bad for scaring him. "You shouldn't cry."

No reaction. She tried again. "I'm Annie. What's your name?"

He peeked at her from under his arms. "R-r-reiner," he sniffled.

"That's a funny name."

"Is not. Not any funnier than Annie," he said indignantly. Little sparks of personality like this grew less and less common as the years went on.

"You don't gotta cry," Annie told him again. "My daddy is here, and he doesn't like it when people are sad."

Right then, her father walked through the door and into the so so white room. "Do you like him, Annie angel?"

She looked up from where she was absently patting the boy on the head. "Something's wrong with him, Daddy."

And then Brawn had looked up and saw her father, and he changed too quickly for Annie's eyes to see- she just remembered that he _barked_, and his teeth were sharp, so sharp, and he took off like a bullet for her father. She watched for a second- a minute?- and tried to process what she was seeing. The next thing she remembered was wanting Brawn to stop, just _stop._ And he did. He stopped, and looked at her, before collapsing.

"Well done, angel," was all her father said before he took her by the hand and led her out of that white room.

That was almost ten years ago. Annie felt like crying now, when she thought of that first long-ago meeting. And when Annie left him for the first time, she could swear that he howled.

She was seven years old, when she learned that even good people could do bad things.

* * *

Today's visit was a little odd, Annie reflected as she stepped out of the shower. The memory of their first meeting was prominent in her mind today, and she thought of something that she hadn't thought of in years. He'd introduced himself as Reiner. He'd never mentioned that name again, and everyone else in the lab had called him Brawn or Number one-oh-four.

When she entered his cage today, he ran up to her and wrapped her in a hug, like every time. He was always so disgustingly happy to see her. There was a fresh bandage on his arm from his latest blood sample, and a bruise on his right knuckles that implied that he'd fought the nurses. Again. "Hi, Annie!"

"Hello Brawn," she returned the greeting. Even though she hated doing this to him, it was hard not to smile around him. He was so innocent.

"Will you read to me today?" he asked hopefully. Annie rolled her eyes. "You can read plenty well by yourself."

"But I like it when you read to me." He looked at her with- _not puppy eyes, he's not an animal_- wide, pleading eyes. "Please?"

"Fine. But I have to go get the book." Brawn nodded vigorously. "I'll be good."

Annie sighed. "I know you will. I'll be right back, okay?"

He nodded again, and plopped down on the white floor.

She shut the door, and tried not to look at his innocent eyes.


End file.
